4 Yoga Poses You Can Do At Your Desk

Today more and more people spend long hours sitting at a desk, working at the computer. This sedentary lifestyle can result in back pain, tension, a loss of core strength and repetitive strain injuries.

Doing a daily yoga practise in the mornings or evenings is an excellent way to combat these problems; however, your 9-5 shouldn’t mean you have to stay still and stagnant all day; instead why not start incorporating some of your favourite Asanas into your work routine, without even leaving your desk.

These four desk-based yoga moves can help ease the pain and tension of sitting at a desk all day, increasing the circulation and energising you for the rest of the day.

Seated Crescent Moon Pose

After long periods of sitting hunched in front of a computer, the side body can start to collapse putting strain on the spine and causing pain in the neck and shoulders. To counter this folding of the body, start doing the Seated Crescent Moon Pose at your desk to stretch and open the sides of your body and lengthen your spine. This will improve your core strength and circulation, increase your concentration and mental clarity as well as energise the whole body.

Chair Pigeon Pose

Sitting down crossed-legged all day restricts the hips from rotating and extending in their sockets as they should in order to remain agile. Instead of leaving work every day feeling stiff, try incorporating the Chair Pigeon pose into your daily office routine. Adapted from the king of hip openers – The Pigeon or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, the Chair Pigeon will open your hips and groin, lengthen your spine and relieve tension and lower back pains.

Chair Eagle Arms Pose

This is a great one for those of us who hold a lot of tension in our shoulders during our long days of sitting at a desk. By stretching the shoulders and upper back, improving the posture and melting tension from your neck and shoulders, the Chair Eagle Arms (adapted from Eagle Arms or Garudasana) can also help eliminate distraction by encouraging focus and calming the mind – great when you’re working under stress or to a tight deadline.

Downward Facing Dog at your Desk Pose

Tension in the lower back is a common complaint of many people who spend long hours sitting at a desk. One way to address this tension is my including a Desk Downward Facing Dog into your office routine. A modified version of the traditional Downward Facing Dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasana, this strong pose will help strengthen the upper body, shoulders and arms helping to relieve tension in the lower back. Doing this post every day will also help stretch your legs, ankles and spine, stimulating blood flow and energising the whole body.

The Author

Emma Michael

Shiatsu practitioner / Yoga Instructor

Emma is the founder of The Centre and is passionate about sharing the power that yoga and shiatsu has had on her life.